Tucked away on a quiet, woodsy road near the Coast of Maine, I came upon a small abandoned cottage at the edge of a meadow. I purchased the house in June 2012 and immediately began renovating the home and nine acres of land. On April Fools' Day 2013, however, everything changed! Not only has my home been reconstructed almost overnight, I have as well! I invite you to join this experience with me as I journal about the miracles along the way.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Bedroom Beams Are Up.....And The Patio Door Is In!

This past week found us driving to Newport Rhode Island to take my Dad back home after his three week visit here. I will miss having our morning chats in the living room before heading off to the cottage to work. I am hoping, however, that I can start work a little earlier now. It's still August but the days seem to be getting shorter and I noticed this morning, that the air has that cool, crisp feeling that signals the onset of autumn.

So, back to work we go with no time to waste!....After the windows were installed in the bedroom last week, the next feat was to take out the last remaining rafters and install some cross beams. By doing this, we created cathedral ceilings and still supported the roof with a handsome feature. I really wanted to have old, rough looking timbers instead of box beams to do this.

The last rafters to be removed

The men bring in the new beams (6 x 6 spruce)

Michael visited a local lumber yard and chose the most beat-up beams. I love the cracks, scrapes and bore holes. We're planning on white-washing the beams after they go up.

Beam me up Mikey!

The bedroom beams are up!

By the way, did I tell you that the patio door went in too? See it at the end of the room? As much as we love the elegant look of French doors, we finally opted for the space saving effect of a sliding glass door, especially in a small cottage like this. This door will open up to a secret bedroom patio, complete with a rock garden, fountain, goldfish pool AND an outside shower! Oh, life is so good! I can't wait until it's finished but a lot more has to happen before we work on that project.

I took the next photo through the glass of the new patio door. Butterflies are fluttering around us all the time while we work, as if reminding us of the marvelous transformation we are involved in.

Did you know that a Butterfly was originally called a "Flutter-By". Because people always got the words mixed up, eventually it just became easier to call it a "Butterfly".

A special thanks to my Dad for all his help while he was here...thanks Dad! XOXOXO

2 comments:

Looks like quite a big project. Looks like your cottage is going to look awesome with the cathedral ceiling you’re planning to put up there! What type of light are you going to put there? I think a chandelier with a fan would look good there. The windows and the patio door are quite charming too. They all match together beautifully.

Hello Marla:Thank you so much for your interest in the blog and all of the changes we are making to the house. I actually designed the bedroom with cathedral ceilings because of a beautiful chandelier I found several months ago in a thrift store. One of my clients paid thousands of dollars for hers and I was able to find the same one for just $14.00! I had to design a room around it! The doors and windows are very efficient and lovely to look at. With a limited budget for this project, I had to buy the best quality for the best price. I think I accomplished that. Thanks so much for noticing.I hope you'll check back in...we're almost done, with a looming deadline of December 1st!

I moved to Maine 28 years ago and since then I have been fortunate enough to own and renovate more than 14 houses and cottages. I have a passion for finding something that no one else seems to want and turning it into something that many admire. I have always had a love for gardening and decorating and decided it might be fun to share this passion with others. I hope you enjoy the photos and insights I will post here. Thanks for visiting.
Joy to You,
Carole